Vibrant Blue
by howlsatthemoon
Summary: Is this love? He asks in his head. Helping the girl you want to get another guy because you crave her smile? / Lily and Teddy work it out.


_Disclaimer: I don't own anything, you fools!_

Heading over to Texas (yee-haw!) Wednesday night and won't be back till Monday night (*sniffle* I'll miss Gossip Girl!), so this'll be the last thing I'll be posting for a few days. On the bright side, I'm going to see a wedding! Squee! I love weddings. I hope I don't cry. . Anyway, hope you guys have had a great day, and I hope this makes your day even brighter instead of the opposite effect. (:

PS: Okay, so I know there's like, an eleven year difference between Lily and Teddy. But… Let's say JK Rowling loves me… and so she said there's only eight? (: Hey, hey, it's called a literary license, right? I can do anything I want with me beloved characters. Bah, humbug.

_Warning_: Major fluff ahead.

-;-

_some people want it all;  
but i don't want nothin at all,  
if it ain't you baby, if i ain't got you baby  
some people want diamond rings;  
some just want everything,  
but everything means nothing  
if i ain't got you, you, you…  
_(If I Ain't Got You; Alicia Keys)

He is awfully tired for a twenty-six year old man coming home from a simple desk job at the Ministry of Magic. There are dark circles beneath his wide blue eyes, and his hair has become a dull shade of light brown, much different from the vibrant blue it usually takes on when he's overjoyed. He hasn't seen his family for days, and his meals have consisted of a peanut butter sandwich and a Chocolate Frog for breakfast and dinner for three and a half weeks. His life's lost its energy, its joy, its love, its… meaning. It's eat, sleep, get up, work, for him, every single damned day, and he's getting bloody tired of it.

So, when he opens the door to find a red-haired girl with tear stains on her cheeks, sitting on the lone ragged couch in his flat, eating peanut butter straight out of the jar, watching soaps on the television, he smiles because he knows that routine's gone for good.

"Teddy," she whispers loud enough to echo around the room, and before he can even blink Lily Luna Potter, _the_ Lily Luna Potter, the girl with the fire hair and grass eyes and ruby lips that never seem to exit his mind, is in his arms once again. He wraps his toned arms around her, relishing in the feel of her slim waist flush against his, her warm cheek against his chilly, sculpted one. She pulls away too soon—the pain of the loss of her touch makes him wince—and eyes him, mouth already open to scold despite the obvious clues that she's been crying. "Why'd you take so long to get home? Don't lie to me, Aunt 'Mione says she always lets you off at five because you're family, and it's already seven o'clock. Don't say she doesn't because she's Ministress of Magic; we ought to be able to trust her. Yes, I know it's only a ten minute walk from here to the Ministry, and, _hello!_ isn't that what Apparating or Floo Network's for? Look at you, you look peaky, we're going to the Leaky Cauldron for food after I slap you for being an arse and making me wait here for two hours. You've been eating peanut butter again, haven't you, you twit? Oh, Teddy," she moans as though he's a toddler who's been naughty, and although her lips are pursed and her brow is furrowed angrily, her eyes twinkle, laughing.

Theodore Lupin is speechless in the face of his very own fire-haired love, for once. He eyes the peanut butter jar, still clenched in her hand. It's very obvious she's been using her finger to eat it. He despises when people do that. He sees the prominently high cheekbones on her face and the way her arms are steady on her narrow hips, and decides to make an exception, just this once. "Lily, I—I—" he splutters, and then just simply says the truth, "I missed you so much."

And then, she bursts into tears and throws her arms around his neck, closing the space between them once again and hugs him tight, tight, tight. "Teddy, you're an idiot!" she announces, squeezing him and laying her head against his shoulder. "I missed you, too," she murmurs into his neck, closing her eyes.

He groans quietly at the tickling feeling of her eyelashes fluttering against the base of his neck. "Why're you crying?" Teddy mumbles, kissing the top of her head and counting every strand that stood up in front of his eyes, which have changed to an arrogant shade of bright green without his consent.

Lily lifts her head up to look at him, studying his face carefully. Her tears have stopped—she's always been a fast crier—and she's grinning through her shiny wet face. "Lysander broke up with me," she admits, cheeks pink, but eyes proud.

Teddy's stomach clenches at the thought of them together, but his fist clenches at the idea of Lily hurt. "I'll kick his ass," he declares valiantly, "and tell him to take you back if he likes his nose on his face." _Is this love?_ He asks in his head, _Helping the girl you want to get another guy because you crave her smile?_

She smiles silently. "Actually, it was my fault. He broke up because… he says he thinks I've loved someone else. He thinks I've loved someone else for a very long time, before we were even together." Lily takes a deep breath and cups Teddy's cheek tenderly. "And he was correct."

"Wha—?" Teddy cocks his eyebrow, frowning. So, Lysander couldn't get a hold of her, either? The man sighs, defeated. Well, now he can join the Lily-Potter-Doesn't-Love-Us-Club. "Oh, well then. So… I can't beat Scamander up, then?"

Lily laughs loudly, throwing her head back, arms tightening around his neck. "You're really stupid, do you know that, Teddy Lupin?" As an afterthought, she adds under her breath, "Lily Luna Lupin; nice ring to it. I've always loved alliterations."

Teddy rolls his eyes and ignores the insults she constantly throws at him. "Well, Lysander wasn't good enough for you, anyway," Teddy informs her, "I mean, you were named after his mum. Bit creepy, don't you suppose?"

Lily Luna frowns at Teddy, slapping the side of his head playfully. "Teddy, do you hear me? Are you bonkers? I'm practically shoving these hints in your face."

"I haven't got the slightest bloody clue what you're talking about, Potter."

She throws her palm against her forehead, frustrated. "Things didn't work out with Fleur, did they, Ted?" she asks finally, rubbing her hips against his, foreheads touching intimately.

"Lils, we broke up almost three years ago," Teddy replies, still clueless. He sighs contently at the way she was touching him, as though she was never going to let go. He would like that.

Lily smiles, resting her head on his shoulder again. "I know another way you can make it into the Potter family," she mumbles softly, loving the feeling of his breaths coming in short, hot spurts on the back of her neck.

"I don't care if James is gay," Teddy tells her quickly, "I'm straight as an arrow and I'm not marrying him for a million Galleons. I love the boy like he's my brother but he's a git."

The girl firmly settled in his arms giggles. "I'm not talking about James," Lily finally replies darkly, looking straight into his eyes.

Teddy freezes. They had been rocking back and forth to the faint sounds of the T.V., almost dancing. His heart is beating too fast. He wants to faint, to fall, to die, to be swallowed up, to marry her because he can't believe this is happening. "Please, please don't tell me Albus is in love with me," Teddy fake-pleads, trying to lighten the suddenly serious mood.

"No," Lily shakes her head, "But I'm about as stupid as you because I've loved you more than life itself since I was born and I've only just noticed."

And now she's kissing him with a fire as dynamic as her hair and his fingers are coming to grip waist, clutching at the young girl as though she's life itself and he's slipping away. "You don't know," Teddy moans, "how long I've wanted you, Lily Potter."

"No, I don't," Lily laughs, kissing him fiercely, wishing for no tomorrows, "Please, enlighten me and tell me how long you've worshiped my fine soul."

Teddy grins against her cheek, placing butterfly kisses there. "Since the day I realized you were the only thing that really made me happy," he whispers in her ear, and her slender fingers crawl down his muscular chest, pausing to tug impatiently at the hem of his shirt. His stomach does flip flops and he hates being mature and acting his age. "No," Teddy says firmly, and pulls away from her. She glares at him and he almost fears for his life and heart, because frankly, this girl possesses both. "Lily… we can't."

She looks as though she's about to cry again, and Teddy hates making his Lily cry because Lily is his rock, the thing he can depend on to be strong throughout it all. "I love you," she swears, "so why can't we?"

"I can't do this," Teddy confesses, although his heart is screaming, '_SHE'S RIGHT! YOU'RE THE BIGGEST IDIOT IN LONDON! IN EUROPE! ON EARTH! YOU LOVE HER!'_ "I'm sorry."

"If you're afraid you're taking my virginity, it's _not _my first time," she says all too rapidly and Teddy scrunches his eyes, wondering when he decided to screw up the best moment of his life.

"'Snot mine either," Teddy confesses guiltily, and Lily's face falls for only a second before hardening.

"Well, if you didn't love me back, you shouldn't have kissed me back in the first place. Thanks for _humiliating _me, Theodore," Lily growls, and stomps towards the door.

Teddy's hands catch her wrist and he tugs her back to him, eyes pleading desperately for her to stay. "Lily, I love you so much, words can't describe how I feel," Teddy admits, "but I'm too old, and I'm not good for you."

"Bu—But—a boy who can change his hair whenever I please is _perfect_ for me," Lily tells him seriously, and he sighs because he knows he'll never be able to let her go.

"_Why me?" _Teddy murmurs, brushing a strand of hair that's fallen into her emerald eyes.

"Ask fate," Lily whispers back, and it's all cheesy and destined and lovey-dovey and corny and they know they're in love because the kiss they engage in feels like home.

Unbeknownst to the quite happy couple, Teddy's hair has slowly morphed into a vibrant shade of bright blue.


End file.
